Flashmob in downtown San Jose starts pillow fight

Lest Twitter and Facebook take themselves too seriously for drawing the masses to Tahrir Square in Egypt for a revolution, the social networks were also partly responsible for another kind of spirited gathering at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown San Jose on Sunday: a pillow fight.

That's right, a good old-fashioned pillow fight with adults acting like children and feathers flying.

At precisely noon, nearly 100 people following Twitter feeds and Facebook postings joined a "flashmob" of silliness.

In tutus, gorilla suits and pajamas, they came by car, bike and train, some with pillows strapped to their backs. They lined up on opposing sidewalks, then with the blow of a whistle, charged one another. They met in the middle in a fluffy frenzy.

"A panda just hit me!" one pillow-wielding man called out as the crowd of revelers, hemmed in by park benches, smacked each other from behind, above and beside. There were no tears, no arrests and barely an injury. In fact, several considered it therapeutic.

"I have a hangover from last night, so I figured my head was already hurting," said Katy Medeiros, 47, of Mountain View, who was pulling feathers out of her hair and eyelashes just four minutes after her first thwomp from a pillow. "It's controlled lunacy, isn't it?"

Not to suggest that these locals didn't assemble for a higher purpose.

"This is building community through fun," said Bill Hoffman, 38, of Cupertino, "and bashing the heck out of each other and not getting mad."

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Organized mobs

Flashmobs, groups of people organized by Internet postings who gather in a public space to do something surprising, have performed dances in the middle of flea markets and frozen themselves in place at grocery stores. The pillow fight phenomenon has been performed around the world, including for several years at Justin Miller Plaza in San Francisco to celebrate Valentine's Day. Two years ago, however, city officials there considered a crackdown when a pillow fight on a rainy day left thousands of dollars in cleanup costs.

No one wanted to take credit for organizing Sunday's "spontaneous" gathering in San Jose, as much to legitimize its organic origins as to avoid blame if things got out of hand. But when it became clear that the worst thing that happened Sunday was a couple of nose bleeds -- and most people stayed around to clean up -- a man in a Spartan helmet and heart-studded boxer shorts stepped up.

Justin Triano, part of the "Bike Party" group (www.sjbikeparty.org) that hosts 20-mile bike rides in costume, said it was time to add another cool event to downtown San Jose, in the same park that is home to the San Jose Jazz Festival and Music in the Park.

Besides, he said, he didn't feel like driving to San Francisco like he did last year.

"We work hard Monday through Friday," Triano, a 27-year-old pharmaceutical sales account manager said during a break in the action. "We really want to have fun."

Grateful sweep

A couple of police officers leaned casually against a patrol car during the pillow fight and city park rangers watched from the sidelines.

"They are an amazingly energetic group. I think some are reloading. I see some fresh pillows going in," said park ranger Pam Helmke. "We just want to make sure they don't damage anything or get hurt."

After the nearly hourlong pillow fight, the organizers brought brooms and garbage bags to clean up after themselves. The crowd parted and rose into cheers as a sidewalk sweeper, under contract with the city, rode in on his giant vacuum. He had heard about the event on the radio while working a few blocks away and figured he'd drive over."I knew they'd be glad to see me," Brian Dehart said as the crowd cheered. "I just didn't expect that."